Characters
Posted on Tuesday, 15 December 2009
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Here is the background information of the characters
http://harrywhitemedia.blogspot.com/2009/12/character-background-information.html
Script
Posted on Monday, 14 December 2009
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Script
Opening Scene – Isolation of Norfolk
Sound of car starting and die
Scott: AHHH! …………………… give it another go….
Hope: What?
Scott: Give it another go!!
Car starts and dies
Scott: I don’t think that it’s going to work
Hope: Really!?
Scott: What’s with the attitude?
Hope: Well, for one were lost! Second were broken down. And Thirdly if you had just listened to me when I told you to get the car serviced before we left, we wouldn’t even be in this situation!
Hope starts to get out of the car
Scott: We are only lost because of you and your damn map reading!
Hope: I wanted to ask for directions but no you said that you knew the way.
Hope is out of the car
Scott: and why do your friends even live out here?....Its the middle of nowhere!
Hope: so it’s my fault now, is it? Do you no what at least I still talk to my friends, where are your friends?
Scott: Well I lost my friends when I met YOU!
Hope scowls at Scott and walks off
Scott: where are you going?
Hope: away from you!
Scott: Oh don’t give me that!
Scott is trying to phone the recovery company
Scott: Are this stupid phone! Why can’t it make a simple phone call!
Schedule
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this our schedule for filming the thriller opening
DATE | CHARACTERS | PROPS | Equipment | TIME |
7th Jan 2010 | Harriet Will | Car Costumes | Camera Tripod Dolly Gorilla Tripod | After School (3:30-5ish) Meet at Lockers |
8th Jan 2010 | Harriet Will Jack | Car Costumes Murder Weapon | Camera Tripod Gorilla Tripod | After School (3:30-5ish) Meet at Lockers |
21st Jan 2010 | Harriet Will Jack | Car Costumes | Camera Tripod Gorilla Tripod | After School (3:30-5ish) Meet at Lockers |
22nd Jan 2010 | Harriet Will Jack | Car Costumes | Camera Tripod Gorilla Tripod | After School (3:30-5ish) Meet at Lockers |
LiveType, Thriller Opening
Posted on Saturday, 28 November 2009
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LiveType is a software created by apple for making title sequences, so to make sure that I can understand how to create title for our thriller opening I have been watching these tutorials:
http://www.livetypecentral.com/cgi-bin/livetypecentral.cgi/scan/MM=86d4bf4c56b899b291fea8fd3486cce0:10:15:10?mv_session_id=uC9LvdeK&mv_pc=1&mv_more_ip=1&mv_nextpage=tutorials
Music Thriller
Posted on Thursday, 26 November 2009
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When looking for thriller music, for the opening to our thriller film, i went to the website freeplaymusic.com which is legal and free.
When i was searching for horror themed music I found this useful page
http://www.freeplaymusic.com/search/category_search.php?t=v&i=1353
To get to this page i clicked on Dramatic Soundscape vol 1
This music is what i was thinking to use in the opening.
PreProduction for Thriller Opening
Posted on Saturday, 21 November 2009
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Meeting 2
For the second meeting we discussed the storyline and the people to the play the characters.
Plot: Sun almost setting over the isolated scene - another isolated scene in Norfolk in the distance you can see a car with the bonnet open and a man standing over it, the sound of the engine starts and then dies. The camera moves closer to the car so that you can see the female in the car. The shot changes to a mid shot of the back of the man looking at the engine he then closes the bonnet and sighs. The couple than start to have an argument about how they are lost and the car is broken down, throughout this there will be a switching of over the shoulder shots, and also some shot that show they are in a fight i.e only showing one of them, I got this idea from the film Vacancy. After the fight the girl walks of saying “I’m going to try and get signal” in a bad attitude. There will be some selection of shots showing her walking and getting signal. While she is doing that the boyfriend gets out the car and moves around, their will a shot of the field and a shape move in front of the camera, giving the sense of someone being there. It will then show a shot of the reflection in the window of the car, showing the boyfriend being stabbed. The women walks back looking at her phone saying I cant get signal “anywhere.” After realising that her boyfriend isn’t at the car she looks about and shouts a his name, she starts to looking in the car and sees a note, it reads I have found a town down the road meet me their. As she is walking down to the town there is a shot where the camera is in a hedge you see a hand with blood dripping down it and in the background the women walks past it not seeing it. It will then end with the sun setting fully.
- Though the opening there will be parts that have mysterious and spooky music to go with the conventions of a thriller
- For the blood we are going to use watered down ketchup, with a little HP source to make it less red.
Characters:
- Killer - Jack Rolph
- Women (yet to be named) - Harriet Millsopp
- Man (yet to be named) - Will Durham
PreProduction for Thriller Opening
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Meeting 1
For our first preproduction meeting, on making an opening to a thriller, we decided to talk about any ideas that we had, and this is what we came up with:
- I put forward an idea that I had been thinking about it was to film a sunset over a flat rural area, this would be to show the isolation of the area.
- Another idea that I had was maybe filming some people moving in a city and then to speed it up. Also to have a person moving though the people, very slowly though so that he can stand out, this would be to show the persons abandonment from the world. Harry came up with the idea of having the sound of a heart beat matching his footsteps
After a few ideas we decided to make the genre thriller and horror, we believed that this would be the most suitable genre for our film as most of the ideas that we came up with where for the conventions of a horror and thriller. We then came up with more ideas for this:
- We had an idea that maybe a character had visions of an arm with blood dripping down.
- For the plot of the film we thought maybe of a modern jack the ripper story.
- For the location we thought maybe isolated area in Norfolk or maybe in a multi story car park.
- We thought that the maybe the first person that the killer kills might be a hitchhiker.
- We then thought of a person who has a broken down car in the middle on nowhere.
- We also thought of putting in a twist at the beginning. We thought of a person that we would make out to be the main character in the beginning and then later would turn out to be the victim of the killer.
- The killer may have a signature to his crime i.e symbol, weapon of choice.
The Departed
Posted on Monday, 16 November 2009
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In 2006 Martin Scorsese directed the film Departed, it was a box office hit winning 4 Oscars and another 49 wins & 53 nominations. We where then asked to watch the first 5 minutes of the thriller/gangster film and to take notes on four sections Music, Narrative, Setting and Characters.
The beginning of the film starts of silent and gradually you can hear the sound of the ocean hinting at that the area is near the sea, as it continues it starts to sound like road noises, which then is revealed to be fighting in the street. Further on in the part you can start to here the Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones playing in the scenes, the music starts to die out when the gangster starts to act kind to the kid. This was done to emphise his kindness and generosity, the music suddenly builds up when he give the kid a pat on the hand.
From the open the main character Frank (the gangster) starts to talk about the 1970s Boston. He also hints at his dark side, this is shown when he says “I want my environment to be a product of me” as he says this it show a man betting up another man, thus making him seem like a thug. Frank comes out as average stereotypical gangster, you get this impression from his voice.
The setting comes out in the first few minutes with the noise of water placing it at sea. However after that the setting becomes a foul place with hate crime everywhere, mobs, etc, it also show the nature of the city in the 70s.
The first main character to be shown is Frank he come out stereotypical even with what he wears and acts like. This is shown with him smoking a cigar and blowing it out his classic hard man act. He is also shown to be feared of by people, you get this impression from when he asks the owners daughter of the store if she has started her period when the farther is right next to her. You can see the reason why later on when Frank has a flash back to when kills a couple, this is when he come out as unhinged, as he said “she fell funny.”
The child that he shows kindness to comes out as looking up to him with trying to show he’s brains, this is shown in the part where frank is giving him a speech about church. This gives the impression that the kid is placing him as his role model.
Vacancy
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For our understanding of how to make an opening to a thriller film we were asked to watch and take down notes on a thriller film, we watched the first 5 minutes or so of the movie Vacancy which is a sub genre horror. For this we asked to take down notes for this and to put them in to the following four sections, Music, Setting, Narrative and Characters. These are meant to be the most import to making a thriller film.
For the beginning of the film there is a sequence of titles, as they are played there is a frantic music playing that is giving a hint to the pace of the film, which is a fast one. After the titles there is a sequences of scenes showing a car driving all the way though a valley to tie in to the mysterious area the music changes the pace at thrilling sections, this is done at the part where he nearly hits a raccoon.
A little later on there is a close up of a radio as he changes though the radio stations just static plays, this done to show how isolated the couple are. To add to the impression that it is night and the isolation they have put in night time noises i.e an owl, crickets, etc that seem to echo, giving the feeling of being surrounded.
After the titles of the film it breaks into the number plate of a car, on the plate is writing saying California this gives the impression that they are from California, giving the impression that they are in the area. However after this you realise that they are not there as a scene shows them driving in valley full of trees, which is not native to the hot climate. How ever you also find out they are lost a little later on. Again they give the feeling of isolation as they do a birds eye view of the car, all you can see is just one set of cars head lamps moving though the road. The film makers have also put the cameras in situations that give the feeling of being watched.During the titles they use the same colours all the way though red and black. These could be semeiotic signs, the red could be hinting at danger or be representing blood, the black could be portrayed as the darkness yet to come. Another could be the title that is used as it is like the Impact title but a little different and give the effect of danger and a grungy feeling. Half way though the titles they start to extend like blood running down a wall, again being a semiotic for blood.
At the beginning of the film a man is shown driving a car he keeps rubbing his eyes showing that he has been driving a long time. As they continue driving he almost hits a raccoon almost killing him and his wife (who has been asleep), this is the first part that shows the problems in there marriage. The spouse starts to pick away at him for swerving to miss the animal, thus showing the problem in the relationship. The past comes to light when the he asks what she has been dreaming of, she then replies “it was about you strangling me,” he then replies “at least you are dreaming of me,” giving the impression that she cheated on him in the past. The film makers have also used great camera shots to give the sense that the couple are in a feud. As you can see they only show half of the car that they are on, it does get quiet confusing, but they are a great way to show separation.
In about two scenes later you get the stereotypical man saying that he nows where he is going. You also get the stereotypical women always knowing what is best to do when it comes to directions, you get this impression from “you should of just stayed on the highway!” Thought the opening you get the guy saying little joke just trying to lighten the mood, however it doesn’t seem to have the attempted affect on the spouse.
British and Hollywood which one is better?
Posted on Sunday, 15 November 2009
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British and Hollywood which one is better?
For media we where asked to look at two movies one British and the other a Hollywood film. Before I do my research of the films, I want to explain the difference of the sections, a British movies do not have a wide ranging budget most of the time they have a small amount of money, most of the time the money comes form small companies.The characters are not famous, for British films, most of the time they are just run of the mill workers. This is what Shane Meadows did for his film ‘This is England‘ and it turned out to be a blockbuster, so it is not always a bad thing.
A Hollywood film is completely the opposite, the budget is in to the high millions and is sponsored by big companies i.e. Universal studios. The characters are normally pretty famous like Brad Pitt or Matt Damon, so the pay for the actors is also high.
The two films that I have choosen are Four Weddings and a Funeral, which is a classic British comedy, and I Love You, Man a modern Hollywood blockbuster. Below is the research that I have found out about the two:
British Film - Four Weddings and a Funeral | Hollywood - I Love You, Man | |
Year | 1994 | 2009 |
Budget | $4.4 Mil | N/A |
Distributor | N/A | DreamWork Pictures |
Genre | Comedy, Romance, Drama | Comedy, Romance |
Gross Revenue | Domestic - $52,700,832 Foreign - $193,000,00 Worldwide - $245,700,832 | Domestic - $71,440,011 Foreign - $19,971,682 Worldwide - $91,411,693 |
From what I can see in the table above I would have to say that the British film came out in top. This could be for a number of reasons one could be because of this economic recession, so less people went to see the film. However for what I believed to be a Hollywood film it has not come to my expectations.
Production Tips
Posted on Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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Diegesis
Is a way of combining diegetic and non-diegetic material to create meaning for the image or moving text.
Diegetic material is when the character is aware of the of the sound e.g talking, thunder, etc. Non-diegetic sound is added for the entertainment of the audience, examples atmospheric music, soundtrack music, voice-over or narration.
The film Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist has a large amount of non-diegetic sound. It use a large amount of the soundtrack music through the film, this is done to give the film a feel good theme. The film makers also make some of the music diegetic, they do this by playing it though the car radio or the band playing it at a gig.
Camera Work and Framing
When filming it is always best to use a tripod so that camera shake is less likely, however handheld is used if the film is documentary themed. To give the appearance of normality in the shot do not use a moving shot, as this obscures the norm. This is done in the cult film Jaws this is done after a boy is killed by the great white shark and the hero of the story realise that the boy is being killed. Another a tip is to stay clear of zooming as this makes the film seem unprofessional.
For filming it is suggested to use a widescreen framing as this also adds the pro look. Also mainly use mid and longs shots and use close-ups sparingly as this is on the big screen, and not a TV series.
Remember to use the rule of thirds when filming as this is a way to make some visually interesting shots. This done by not having the object perfectly central, is they are slightly to the side it makes a unique visual image.
To establish the actions of a character combine types of shot with distances, this is essential for the ‘language of film’. For example, shot of person walking to door long shot, person near door medium shot and then hand handle to open door close up.
Camera shots are a key way into making a person seem powerful or powerless. You do this with the simpleness of an angle, to make a person powerful do a low angle shot and to make them powerless do a high angle shot.
Lighting
Here are a few tips to make your film look professional:
- Use natural light - sunlight, in shadow, in mist, through rain - use these depending on the effect that you want to carry out e.g. Rain = sadness maybe a funeral.
- Cheap and cheerful light - To make your own artificial light simply use a tourch, security lights, neon signs, street light and if you have carried out the risk assessments, candles, firelight, etc.
- Colour filters - to give an area a different lighting use coloured liquids, vases, etc. However you can use an effect on the computer to add filters
- Positioning the light - experiment with the lighting as it cause different atmospheres
Combining Sound, Image and Titles
It is harder than it looks to put clips with the timing of the music not to mention the appropriate type of music for the clips. So be careful with your decision on the music and the style. When adding the music think about what shots would go best with the style of the part the music i.e. So if it a fast beat you will probably want someone running.
It is also hard to choose the right titles for the film, because you don’t want the film titles to be with guns and then for the film to have nothing to do with guns. So make the text suit the film and also the rhythm of the music.
After Viewing of Somers Town
Posted on Wednesday, 21 October 2009
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Genre
How would you categorise this film in terms of genre?
In terms of genre I would not call it a drama film, this is because I felt it was more on the lines of a documentary. I get this from how the story is built around the experience of a northern homeless boy and a polish boy who has come over with his farther. It also shows the effects of being away your family in an unknown city.
What do you think is the film’s appeal for audiences?
I believe that a big appeal to the audience is that the film shot in black and white, to add the effect of the surroundings. Another attraction to the film would be that it is a very traditional British film, by it being based on the working class and having a low budget, this would entices the audience as there are not many traditional English films any more.
As well as being in black and white, the film is subtitled during a conversations in Polish between Marek and his farther; there are also sections in French. In what ways do these factors affect your responses to the film, the situation and the characters?
With the characters speaking in there native language gives the film the authentic feal that I believe that they where trying to get across in the. As I believe the film is about different cultures coming together in Somers Town and to get this though they would need to have the actor speaking the tounge of the character.
What similarities and differences can you identify between Somers Town and This is England?
The similarities between the two films are that they are both set around a child or teenager who is lost and confused about the environment that he is living in, Also how the characters both gain and loses friends or family. A similar thing is that both of the filming takes place around an estate.
The differences of the films are that Somers Town is shot completely in black and white, to display the area of London, but the other film has to show the bleakness of the area, by showing the torment that Shaun does though at the beginning of the holidays.
Representation
To what extent do you think the audience is expected to be ‘comfortable’ with this portrait of two teenagers?
I believe that the two teenagers are not displayed in a bad way as they are just acting out because of the story line. Marek acts the a responsable way because he fears of what his farther will do if he does anything bad, however you see a change in this when the French women leaves. Tomo on the other hand does not seem to have a bad streak as he is shown on the film, he shows no attitude towards the teenagers when they beat him up or when Marek’s dad catches him in the house. Overall I believe they are not shown in a negative way.
In what different ways do Tomo and Marek seek to amuse themselves within this enviroment? Do you think the film encourages us to judge any of their actions?
As I said before the film doesn’t give a strong valid reason to judge there actions. However because of the environment they make there own fun attempting to sell chairs and pushing the French women home.
What message of childhood adolescence do you, or could you, take away from the film?
To be honest the film does show a very positive view of teenagers. This is shown near the beginning of the film where Tomo is beaten, thus giving the impression that all London teenagers are thugs.
Do your reactions towards the boys change at different pionts in the film? Which moments in particular?
- When Tomo is mugged at the beginning we are encouraged to sympathise for him as he has lost his only thing that can relate him to home. I felt sorry for Marek when his dad leaves him to go out drinking with mates and Marek just wonders around looking for things to take photographs of.
- One part that I didn’t feel sympathetic for the boys is when they steal the clothes for the laundrette, and later finding out that they are a woman’s clothes leaving Tomo to wearing them as his other clothes are ruined.
To what extent would you agree that Meadows is playing with stereotypes in his representation of these characters?
The film actually comes out very stereotypical, it does this with many characters. One is Marek dad, the Polish the are thought of as very hard working throughout the English community, and as Mariusz (Marek’s dad) says “My boss said I was very had working and the best he has”, this very stereotypical to the Polish.
Notes on Somers Town
Posted on Monday, 19 October 2009
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Before the showing of Somers Town we had a 20 minute talk about what make a British film, the new wave and a little about Shane Meadows
What makes a British Film?
The thing that make a British film, British the following:
- They tend to be about everyday people
- The Budget doesn’t go in to the millions, they are normal very low budget being Asponsored by small companies.
- Normally about the working class.
British New Wave 1958 - 1963
During this time period came the expansion of film making. Our new wave happened very closely with the French new wave, the well known film for this is “Look Back in Anger”. You maybe asking what changed? Well with sexual content becoming less strict film makers started adding sexual scenes in to the films. This is not the only thing, before the new wave the films where very simple the heroes always won against the villains. But with the new age the villains sometimes won.
About Shane Meadows
Shane Meadow (1962) is a self taught Director, Screen Writer and Actor he is also a working class man. He started filming in 1969, with his first film “Small Time”, but however he was not well know until he brought out the film “This Is England” (2006). Meadows also brought a variety of short films starting form 1994.
Once Upon a Time in The West
Posted on Wednesday, 14 October 2009
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For our research into making a opening scene I have been asked to take analyse notes on the beginning of “Once Upon a Time in the West”. We were told to take notes on the sounds, digetic (Natural to the film e.g voices, wind, doors, etc) and non-digetic (not natural to the film or has been added, music screams, etc), also camera shots and effects add to the film.
When going though the film I found that there are many digetic and non-digetic noises. A digetic noises that I noticed is in the first couple of seconds, it is the creak of the door the film makers kept this in to show that someone is coming in to the train station. They also add a tension through the sound of the chalk board as this makes you feel uncomfortable, which really goes along with the opening of the film. Again though the sound thay give an impression of what the area is like, this is where they are panning up the cowboy and you hear the wind, however the cowboy is inside the house thus giving the impression that the area is desolate and also giving the house a decrypted theme. Another noises is the slow foot steps of the cowboy this is done to give an impression of him before you see him. The impression that is given is to show that he is relaxed and powerful.
In the opening of the film there are also non-digetic sounds these are there to add tension to the beginning. One is the noise form the bird, the bird starts to make noise when the cowboy starts to open the door; this is giving a hint at danger coming.
The opening has a variety of camera angles to give you the impression of what the actor is felling. One of the first shots of the film is a frail old man writing something on a chalk board and zooms out, this is done to show the old man’s job. The zoom out also does a slight upwards tilt to signify how weak the old man is. A suspense that the film maker put in was a slow upwards pan of a cowboy, this was done to add suspense to the man. To show that the old man is surrounded by the conterventional cowboys there is a pan around the houses showing a cowboy step in to each of the get away points.
Through the opening there is not a great deal of effects, which is not surprising with the time of its making. However there is one effect that caught my eye, this effect was simply a ticket flowing in the wind that went straight towards the camera. However there where some other effect nevertheless they are simple ones like the fans to create the winds of the desolate areas.
Somers Town
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For a trip we are going on in the near future we been told to da a little background information and other black and white films.
I believe that the reason the director produced the film in black and white and not in colour, was to show the true nature of the town. What I mean by this is that the area of London is not a cheery place so to get though the harshness of the city Shane Meadows produced it in black and white.
Other black and white films:
Clerks – Kevin Smith
Release Date: 5 May 1995
Genre: Comedy
Director’s Reputation: Kevin Smith has been won 9 awards and 8 nominations
he has worked also produced 18 films and written 21
Reaction to it: On the IMBd website it scored 8/10 with 83,632 votes
Pi – Darren Aronofsky
Release Date: 8 January 1999
Genre: Thriller and Sci-fi
Director’s Reputation: Darren Aronofsky was a director on 8 film, written 7 and has produced 4 films
Reaction to the Film: On the IMBd website it scored 7.6/10 with 48,832 votes
Raging Bull – Martin Scorsese
Release Date: 19 February 1981
Genre: Biography, Drama and Sport
Director’s Reputation: Martin Scorsese was a director in 49 film, also he produced 37
Reaction to the Film: On the IMBd website it scored 8.4/10 with 79,996 votes
About the area and filming
The sounds that I expect to here in the film are:
• Cars going pass
• Car alarms
• Buses
• Chatting
Based on the setting of the film I believe that the film will be along the lines of a child trying to find his way in the world, but because of the harshness of London he finds it difficult and makes friends in the unlikely of places.
Final Cut Express
Posted on Monday, 12 October 2009
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On the 9th of October we continued our understanding of how to use Final Cut Express. On the day we started to put the film together, and input the music.
To add a scene to the film, you can either click and drag the scene on to the timeline or you can place it on to the second view screen. If you do this a box will appear (like the one to the left), there are a number of choices to choose from. if you press the insert button it will simply insert it to the timeline. However if overwrite button is selected you will lose any of the work that the yellow arrow head is placed.
To trim or edit then selected scene you can either edit the scene in the first view book by selecting the in and out timings. Another way to edit the scene is to simple click on the end of the scene (once it is in the timeline) and then move it up or down untill have the place were you want it to begin or end.
You can also edited or trim the music the same way as clip. Also once in the timeline, if you click on a small button at the bottom with a circle in it, you can get the to suddenly drop in music or slowly increase. However to do this you will need more than one dot on the music level so click on the button twice.
Me
